A total of three enemies had confronted Eliisabet and Chrono. It was the worse timing they could have hoped for. Both Avic and Custos were currently unconscious from their encounter with Valves. Even Chrono was seriously injured and wouldn't be of much use in a fight. Things were constantly taking a turn for the worse.
The three enemy students slowly approached them with their weapons in hand. They demanded that Eliisabet and Chrono hand over their scrolls if they wished to survive.
"We don't have any scrolls. We lost them just now to another group," lied Eliisabet.
"Heh! We just heard you two talking about the scrolls you had. Don't try to play dumb with me. It won't end well, girl!" Warned one of the enemy students. He seemed to be the leader with wild brown hair and shocking green eyes.
"If you don't believe us then you can look around for yourself," persuaded Chrono.
The three enemy students then looked around at one another as if to decide what to do next. This was when they gave one another nods of assurance before proceeding into the tiny hiding spot with Eliisabet and Chrono.
Eliisabet and Chrono glanced at one another, hoping they'd believe them and leave. The three rummaged through their belongings, tossing aside food, water, weapons, and other items. However, in the end, they couldn't find a single scroll.
"As you can see, we're telling the truth. We have no scrolls. Even our comrades are injured, as you can see for yourselves," continued Chrono.
The leader of the three enemy students hissed. It was true. There were no scrolls to be found.
"I don't know. Something feels off here, Ralph," pondered a girl among them. She had short black hair and dark brown eyes.
"I agree, Crystal," he answered. "For one, why are there four of you? Each team is to be comprised of only three members!"
"He's a friend of ours and we decided to team up after his teammates were killed in battle. That's all there is to it," answered Eliisabet.
The three then looked at one another once more with suspicion written across their faces. This time, the third individual who was a male with a bald head and dark blue eyes came forward.
"I smell bullshit. Now that I look closer, two members of your team are well-known. One's Custos and the other's Chrono, right? Hmph. I don't know who could have taken out a powerful team like yours but I know you're no amateurs. And since your team is so powerful, I doubt you have a small collection of scrolls. And if you have a large collection then that means you wouldn't dare to risk carrying it around with you. You hid the scrolls somewhere safe, didn't you?"
Shock covered both Eliisabet's and Chrono's faces. They had figured it out.
"Nice one, Brad," praised Ralph, their leader. "Given the look on their faces, it seems you figured it out. Now then, the only thing left for us to do is to find their base and take their scrolls. What luck we've found here!"
"We don't know what you're talking about. I already told you that we have no scrolls. They were taken from us after we lost to another team," lied Chrono.
Just then, Ralph threw a powerful punch, slamming his fist into the side of Chrono's face. Chrono winced in pain, unable to pick himself up.
"Chrono, are you okay?!" Shouted Eliisabet in worry.
"Don't you dare lie to me again. The next time you do then I'll have no issue in killing you. I know for a fact that you still have scrolls. Why else would you have asked if they were still safe or not earlier? I wasn't born yesterday!"
Eliisabet had a strong urge to fight the three of them all by herself. Chrono was too injured to fight and Custos and Avic were unconscious. She could only depend on herself. However, if she were to fight them, then there was a chance that the others would get caught up in the fight. That was anything but ideal in their current condition. Due to this, Eliisabet made a dangerous decision.
"Fine! Don't hurt them! I'll take you where the scrolls are if you promise to leave the others alone! They're in no condition to deal with this."
"No! Eliisabet, don't..! We worked too hard to get those scrolls! You'd be stupid to give them away so easily!" Pleaded Chrono, weakly.
"Hehe! That's fine by me," agreed Ralph with a smirk. "However, I'm sure you know that if you pull any tricks then we'll kill you without a second thought. You got that, girl?"
Eliisabet nodded as she slowly picked up her yari.
"Leave the weapon. We're not about to take any risks with you, bitch," cursed Crystal.
Eliisabet hardened her gaze as she looked into Crystal's eyes, "This forest is flooded with dangerous monsters and enemies. And it so happens to be that the area where our main hideout is located is in an area occupied by many three-headed wolves. I need something to defend myself. Unless you think you can all handle those monsters by yourselves then you can go without me. I'm not going unless I feel like my safety is guaranteed. This is a deal being made between us."
"Hmph. Fine then. It's not like you can do much against the three of us anyway. Grab your weapon and let's go," demanded Ralph.
Eliisabet immediately did as she was instructed. Before she climbed out of the small hiding spot, she looked back at Chrono and gave a reassuring nod. She needed him to take care of Custos and Avic while she was gone.
"Chrono, don't worry. Everything will be okay. I'll be back soon. Take care of Avic and Custos for me."